Radical or not? You Decide - The Story of the Reimagining Unconference
In the age of pandemics that keep us apart and AI that begs to say we don’t necessarily need each other, we have built an online space for real, human connection. Dive into this blog post to learn more about how the Reimagining Unconference has changed each of us.
Blog post written by Erin-Kate Escobar and Susan Liao, August 24, 2026
What if you showed up to a “professional” gathering with no predetermined speakers or agenda, no sales pitches, and complete permission to follow your curiosity?
For five years, as the founding “RU Crew,” a collective of rad women of color and ourselves, a queer woman of color and a nonbinary person of color, have been creating exactly that: The Reimagining Unconference, an invitation to our connected communities to join us online for honest, liberatory dialogue on the topics we care about. Born during the early pandemic as a way to heal from unpredictability, uncertainty, and volatility, we asked ourselves: what else could be possible? What if we reimagined what "work" looks like? What if we invited the world to co-create with us, to reimagine how we participate in our paid engagements, in our family commitments, and in our community care and mutual aid work? And thus emerged the inaugural Reimagining Unconference: People, Power, and Possibility of Work.
What Makes This Gathering Different?
Most conferences happen to you. The Reimagining Unconference happens with you in real time.
As event hosts, our one true responsibility is to “open space,” to welcome folks into our opening circle where we say hello, take a moment to ground ourselves, and then share the guidelines for how we desire to engage with each other:
Whoever comes are the right people
Wherever it happens is the right place
Whatever happens is the only thing that could have (prepare to be surprised!).
Whenever it starts is the right time
Whenever it's over, it's over
Law of Mobility: If you find yourself in a place where you're not learning or contributing, as you desire, move yourself to a place where you can.
Graphic by April Reissman, Sketchnoting101
These five principles and one law are what is called Open Space*, a process and participatory method that flips the traditional model on its head. In our own words, this means:
No gatekeeping, no “must haves”
There is a seat for you, always and anywhere
We embrace what emerges rather than executing a script, so “less prep, more presence”**
It’s okay to be late because there is no “late”
Energy and desire, not the clock, dictate the pace
This isn't radical in theory; it's radical in practice. Every open space we’ve hosted, facilitated, or attended is unique. For us, there is no right or wrong. Instead, for that time of year or phase in our lives, there is simply what we desire to do and what we feel accountable to do, for ourselves individually and for the communities we care about. That being said, what remains constant is how we “open space.”
*Open Space is also known formally as Open Space Technology, a process designed by Harrison Owen, who passed away in March 2024 - https://openspaceworld.org/wp2/hho/papers/brief-users-guide-open-space-technology/
** “Less prep, more presence” is a core principle in Emergent Strategy by adrienne marie brown. https://esii.org/about/
What we start with:
A theme
A space to gather
An invitation
How we flow:
The Opening Circle - Our welcoming and “Marketplace”
The Sessions
The Closing Circle – sharing the evening news, so to speak, or what we call “harvest and reflections”
What’s the Marketplace?
Everyone gathers for the Opening Circle plenary to set intentions and ground themselves. Then comes the magic: the Marketplace. Anyone facilitates and first-timers alike, can propose a breakout session on any topic they're grappling with. We use the word “propose” loosely here, because there are no criteria for “approving” a proposal. To propose a topic (or two or three), your one responsibility is to use your voice to introduce your idea and then to “pin” it on the wall and confirm your “space” and time–where your session will take place and when it will start. This can be a predesignated breakout room or you might offer your own zoom link or even invite folks to gather in a WhatsApp group chat. Any space goes; it’s your choice. Then, it’s up to others to tap into their self-agency and choose where they want to be and when.
Then at your start time, you open that space. No presentation slides needed. Just humans thinking through a shared question or topic together. Start simply by saying why you brought that topic or start with an activity or quote that calls to you - you decide!
What if no one shows up? You have options: sit with the question for an hour and write about it, or drift into another room where energy is building. You leave a note and go. That's it. That's the whole system. And it works.
Over three to four hours, you might attend multiple sessions or dive deep into one. You might witness live coaching, spontaneous art-making, fierce intellectual debate, or dancing. Sessions that feel complete end. Sessions that catch fire keep going. The hosts show up as promised, but the ending? That belongs to the group.
Five Years of Themes, Five Years of Evolution
Year 1 (RU 22):People, Power & the Possibility of Work gathered people doing radical, thoughtful work that is pushing against the mainstream and building a space to amplify our voices.
“Since 2020, work culture has witnessed swift shifts in navigating unpredictability, uncertainty, and volatility. In this moment of accelerated change, we have the opportunity and imperative to make consequential transformation in how we participate in our paid engagements, in our family commitments, and in our community care and mutual aid work. Where do we want to go? How might we reimagine possibilities? What collective actions can we take”
RU 22 Graphic Recording Created by Lucia Fabiani
Year 2 (RU 23): Nurturing Our Collective Futures explored ancestral practices, rituals, art for liberation, collective living, and cooperative economics across a full three days.
Day 1: Reimagining - Exploring possibilities, expanding. and learning Day 2: Redefining - Exploration, sensemaking, and taking action Day 3: Readying - Decompression, debriefing, and deploying
Sharing wall in the “marketplace” where everyone attending can suggest topic/theme to invite people to discuss
Year 3 (RU 24): Cultivating Plenty invited people to reimagine how we share resources to advance collective liberation, asking hard questions about solidarity, action, and building the communities we've imagined.
From the website: "Cultivating Plenty invites us to rethink how we harness and share our resources to advance collective liberation. We are called to confront local and global atrocities, economic instability, and systemic injustice with solidarity and practical actions. We know that better futures are possible. We can imagine them and we can create them. How can we reimagine the possibilities for sharing and amplifying resources within our communities? What collective actions are necessary to begin to build communities we have reimagined?”
RU24 Graphic Recording Created by Ashanti Gardner
Year 4 (RU 25): Our Table centered complexity and boldness, creating a space where whole humans could resist systems that weren't built to care for us and build alternatives together.
From the website: “We are creating a collective table, a table that can hold our complexity, a table where we are bold with our ideas, where we are brave with our offerings, and we are a part of a collective group that is shaping the actions of the future. Our table welcomes all of us as whole humans who are experiencing frustration with the systems that were not created to care for us. We won't stand idly by. We are ready to build the world we need—right here, right now.”
RU25 Graphic Recording Created by Ashanti Gardner
Year 5 (RU 26): What Is It That I Desire to Do Now? asked the most open-ended question yet. In uncertain times, what if we tended to our own desires? What if we practiced radical honesty about what we actually want to be doing…right now?
Each year shifted the theme, deepened the practice, and proved something: when you trust people and get out of the way, remarkable things emerge.
RU26 Graphic Recording Created by Ashanti Gardner
Behind the Scenes (The Practice Matches the Vision)
The organizing team meets 4-6 months out, starting with theme and ending with logistics. But we spend the majority of our time "humaning together." Following rabbit holes. Laughing. Learning about one another's lives as we get things done together. Our meetings were more like catch-up and co-working, where the work is done during the meeting.
We invited artist and visual sensemaker Ashanti Gardner and brought in Open Space facilitators like generative coach April Jefferson. We seek to offer accessible pricing that covers the real costs: website, facilitator fees, graphic recording. We partner with Qiqo (who donates the platform every year). We work from a strengths-based approach, with each person taking on what lights them up.
The process is as important as the outcome. The team writes the invitation copy, the guiding questions, and the behind-the-scenes scaffolding. We share through our networks, newsletters, and direct invitations. And we build a space where people can navigate, contribute, and belong.
Who Is This For?
If you're exhausted by extractive spaces. If you want to be in a room with thoughtful people grappling with real questions. If you've been wondering how to build differently. If you want to contribute without a script. If you want to move when something stops resonating and go where energy is alive.
You belong here.
The Reimagining Unconference opens doors to people who've never been in an unconference before. It welcomes you as a whole human. And it trusts you to show up, to speak, to move, to co-create something you can't predict but will absolutely feel.
A few key takeaways from RU26 - Year 5!
This year, one person shared they were joining in from across the globe, having learned about us one day prior by asking AI, what’s an unconference or open space I can go to and they found us! You never know what forces might bring each person to the space, but we can tell you that each year we meet people and have conversations that change the way we think and the actions we take. What a gift, that keeps giving.
At one session, “Make time for creativity and play,” the conversation meandered towards the topics of postcard penpals and zines, at which point, a participant exclaimed, “Here’s my zine I created during last year’s 2025 Reimagining Unconference, it’s right here on my desk!” For us, this was a reminder of why we love open space – prepare to be surprised!
When we closed this year, people shared what they were taking home and this is what nourishes our hearts:
Freedom.
Community.
I feel seen.
We feel seen.
Nourished
The power of listening and being together.
From Erin-Kate - I am taking away a few concrete practices:
I painted a sign to bring with me when I go paint in the garden. The sign says: this seat is for you. It’s an invitation to come paint with me without having to set up a recurring time or date for people to join me in painting at the community garden.
Snail mail to send to friends. I already have three letters on my desk ready to go! Just putting a few words in an envelope and sending them away.
Permission to embrace the whimsy, work less hard, play more
A mantra: "I've crossed my finish line. I'm not running for you anymore."
From Susan - I’m taking away:
The joy of human conversation
The joy of serendipity
The joy of whoever is there are the right people
The joy of handwriting letters
The joy of holding space at our table
Why This Matters
If you've felt exhausted by extractive spaces or online conferences where you’re overwhelmed, where you give energy but don't receive it back, we think this may be your antidote. The Reimagining Unconference happens once a year. It's affordable. It's intentional. It's for people ready to co-create rather than consume.
Blog post by Erin-Kate Escobar of EK Consulting and Susan Liao, founder & CEO, Leaders Like Us LLC / Startups for All.
Susan Liao (she/her) has a mission to make the #FutureOfFoundership accessible to all by advancing full representation of our most marginalized populations, including women of color and queer/trans BIPOC, as start-up founders and CEOs. Learn more about her work on LinkedIn.
